Beijing, January 7:

Foreign trade in southern China’s industrial powerhouse Guangdong province topped $500 billion in 2006, up by $100 billion over the previous year, state press said today.

Exports of high and new technologies led the boom, making up by 34.5 per cent of the province’s total exports during the first 11 months of the year, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the provincial trade bureau. Private export-oriented businesses also helped boost foreign trade as they increased their exports by 58 per cent during the first 11 months of 2006 over the previous year, exporting $42 billion worth of goods, it reported.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, China’s total foreign trade is expected to top $1.75 trillion in 2006, up by about 24 per cent over 2005. In the first 10 months of 2006, Guan-gdong, known as the shop floor of China’s booming export-driven economy, exported $241 billion wor-th of goods, up by 28 per cent over the same period.

The province imported $183 billion of products during the first 10 months of 2006, up by 19.8 per cent over the same period in 2005, ministry statistics showed. According to Xinhua, foreign enterprises brought some $14 billion in contracted investment into Guangdong during the first 11 months.

Guangdong’s GDP is expected to reach $330.7 billion this year, up by 14 per cent from last year, according to provincial government predictions, the report stated. Per capita GDP in Guangdong’s prov-incial capital, Guangzhou city, was likely to surpass $10,000 in 2006.